By Dawn Onley

Have you ever had something in life that just wasn’t working for you anymore?

It doesn’t matter what it is — a relationship, a job, a belief, an exercise regimen, whatever – the point is, if it’s no longer working, why are you still clinging onto it?

Heck, it may have never worked. Yet, month after month, here you are hanging on, as if it’s still better to hold out hope rather than chalk up your losses and go in another direction.

I’m all about hope. In fact, I co-write this blog dedicated to women like us, who hope. My optimistic brain usually leans to the possibility of a thing working out.

But I’m also a realist. Sometimes you need to know when to hope and other times you need to learn when to let go. Just like the Kenny Rogers song “you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run…”

When you have the persistent feeling that things will not work out, that things will not get better, that your heart is not into this, or that you need to try another approach, don’t wait. Do it. Hope was never meant to pacify us or keep us holding on, uninspired, in a state of lethargy.

Don’t be afraid to change course. I’m writing these words to myself as clearly as I’m writing them to you. We can test the winds and adjust our sails. We can learn from our mistakes and from our experiences – good and bad. We can strive for better.

Let’s start today, planning our way ahead. Let’s become who we were always meant to be.

“Sometimes the place you’re used to is not the place you belong.” — Queen of Katwe